Fred Rogers (r) stars in Won't You Be My Neighbor? |
From our friend, Arch Campbell...
First Reformed - 4 Stars. Grieving minister Ethan Hawke tries to counsel an environmental activist on the value of bringing children into our world. Tension-filled and thought-provoking.
RBG - 4 Stars. Inspiring life story of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's quirky, smart and determined.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? - 4 Stars. Touching biography of seminary student/turned television pioneer Fred Rogers.
The Death of Stalin - 3½ Stars. Funny but painful history lesson of the dance for power to replace the Soviet dictator, with outstanding performances by Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, and Simon Russell Beale.
A Quiet Place - 3½ Stars. Wildly creative horror story. A family must stay quiet, lest they get eaten by blind, sound-sensitive space monsters.
Arch Campbell with Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis (r) |
Deadpool 2 - 3 Stars. More of the wisecracking, anti-hero superhero played by Ryan Reynolds.
Ocean's 8 - 3 Stars. Sandra Bullock masterminds a multi-million dollar heist with a gang of women you'd better not cross.
Avengers: Infinity War - 3 Stars. All of the characters in the Marvel Universe fight Thanos, who plans to depopulate the world. A Grand Opera approach to comic books, fans will love.
Hearts Beat Loud - 3 Stars. Single father Nick Offerman sadly and nostalgically sends his daughter into the world after one final bonding attempt through music. Touching and gentle.
Book Club - 2½ Stars. Four mature women begin reading "50 Shades of Grey" and things change. Great cast includes Jane Fonda, Candace Bergen, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen.
Disobedience - 2½ Stars. Rachael Weitz returns to her conservative Orthodox community after the death of her father.
Tag - 2 Stars. Childhood friends carry on a game of tag into middle age. Feels tedious, until the credits show video of the real guys involved.
Solo: A Star Wars Story - 2 Stars. Uninspired prequel to the 1977 original.
Life of the Party - 2 Stars. Melissa McCarthy as a newly divorced mom going back to the same college as her daughter.
Visit Arch's website for his (unrivaled) take on movies. He remains the only other (we're not self-hating) critic, whose opinion we admire and respect.